CEO – National Archive

The role is predominantly office based in Kew, London, with some travel both nationally and internationally.

As the Chief Executive and Keeper you will lead The National Archives as an ambitious, visionary, dynamic and people-centred organisation within a rapidly changing environment to deliver on our long-term organisational vision detailed in Archives for Everyone. With a budget of circa £50m, you will ensure we provide value for public money, leveraging commercial opportunities and other partnerships for the development of the organisation and the benefit of all our customers and stakeholders. Our Annual Report for 2022-23 can be accessed here.

As Principal Accounting Officer for a Non-Ministerial Department, sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), you will ensure the organisation (circa 550 FTE) is run effectively, delivering against all formal responsibilities, and to Government standards, complying with appropriate Government financial, accountability, and legal frameworks and ensuring that The National Archives contributes, as appropriate, to the delivery of the priorities of DCMS and Government more widely.

You will guide and supervise the creation and preservation of the historical record of the UK and Welsh Governments. You will have a duty to preserve and provide trusted, definitive information resources, including official publications such as legislation.gov.uk and the Gazettes, through various media including emerging technology and social platforms. You will lead the enhancement of the user experience across the organisation’s diverse audiences, continually improving access to our world-renowned records and our offer to Government. We are increasingly recognised for our public engagement work from exhibitions to public talks, through podcasts and school visits. Under your leadership we will grow the number of people who encounter and benefit from the experience of archives. You will also provide leadership externally within the wider archive sector nationally and internationally, with particular responsibility for leadership of the archive sector in England.

We require an inspirational leader with a breadth of expertise to confidently and credibly lead The National Archives as it embarks on a transformational decade. Over the next four years we will be accessioning near-contemporary digital records at scale, bringing the Parliamentary Archives together with the archive of Government and completing the single biggest transfer in our history – the historical records of c10 million service personnel. We will continue to invest time, thought and resource into the long-term sustainability of our work and that of the sector we lead. The new Chief Executive and Keeper will play a pivotal role in leading the creation of a second regional site to complement our Kew headquarters which promises to be a transformative large scale capital project for the organisation.

Overall accountability for the leadership and governance of the organisation:

• As Principal Accounting Officer, ensure the organisation is run efficiently with appropriate governance and controls, always working to manage Government assets and resources to provide value for public money, meeting the needs of all customers whilst managing their expectations, and agreeing resource allocations with His Majesty’s Treasury.
• Report to a Director General (currently a job share) of the sponsoring Department, working with colleagues within the sponsoring Department to ensure The National Archives maintains a high level of performance in line with the Framework Agreement between The National Archives and the Department.

• Work effectively and collaboratively with the Board as set out in the Framework Agreement, and with other key stakeholder groups to ensure that advice and feedback is considered for the development of the organisation and the services it provides.

 

Customer focus and service delivery:

• Ensure that the customer is at the heart of the continual development of our services to meet present and future needs, including the use of emerging technologies and the changing expectations of our customers.
• Constructively challenge the organisation to continually improve our services to Government including how they transfer records to us and how they access them afterwards, and the advice and support that we give to them.

 

Realising public value of the collection:

• Ensure that the organisation maximises the value from the records including for future generations, diversifying the customer base, and leveraging commercial opportunities.

 

People leadership:

• Lead an effective Executive Team ensuring coherence and alignment across the organisation in line with our organisational strategy and four-year plans.
• Constructively challenge the Executive Team to ensure the organisation has the capability and capacity to deliver its services at all levels and that strategic plans are in place that balance the ambition of the organisation with the resources available.
• Constructively challenge the Directors to ensure that they are maximising the talents of our people and are developing the next generation of leaders.
• Provide inspirational leadership to all members of staff across the breadth of the organisation, role-modelling our behaviours, values, and adherence to the Civil Service Code (and Management Code), holding others accountable for doing so.

 

Innovation and technological development:

• Lead the development of organisational capability for innovation, maintaining the leading-edge reputation of the archive both nationally and internationally.
• Encourage people within the organisation to find creative solutions and approaches to meet customer needs both current and for the future. This includes the use of emerging tools and technological solutions.

Stakeholder management and engagement:

• Work with key partners, whether in the archives sector (nationally and internationally), Government, the education sector, or the commercial sector to develop services and approaches in a joined-up way that focus on providing customers with an excellent experience whilst providing value for public money.

 

Policy leadership:

• Providing statutory guidance to government departments under the Public Records Act 1958, leveraging the organisation’s specialist knowledge to support Permanent Secretaries and Ministers.
• Working with colleagues across Government to play an influential role in developing Government policy in key information areas (for example the archives sector and information management), and to provide advice and support in the ever-changing context of information management.
• Provide leadership and expertise on policy issues relating to crown copyright, official publishing, and the re-use of public sector information.

Essential criteria

• A familiarity with the archives sector or an understanding of the context within which The National Archives operates.
• A well regarded, strategic leader with a proven ability to lead a complex, multifaceted organisation where agility of thought and navigation and appreciation of complex governance arrangements is key.
• Demonstrable financial and commercial acumen, evidencing an understanding and experience of working within frameworks focused on value for money and risk-based approaches to decision making, and an understanding of Managing Public Money.
• Experience of providing a consistent strategic vision to ensure multiple competing priorities are met. Championing collaboration and constructively holding colleagues to account thereby ensuring a cohesive leadership team.
• Demonstrable evidence of an empowering, inclusive leadership style with the ability to inspire people at all levels of the organisation and externally, displaying integrity, openness, and impartiality.
• Proven ability to build effective relationships and establish credibility with a wide range of senior stakeholders both nationally and internationally, benefiting organisational reputation, influencing decision making where necessary and leading complex strategic decision making.

Alongside your salary of £145,000, Department for Culture, Media and Sport contributes
£39,150 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme.

Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

DCMS values its staff and offers a wide range of benefits to everyone who works here. We’re committed to developing talent, and supporting colleagues to have great careers in our department. To support with that, some of the benefits we offer include:

• Flexible working arrangements and hybrid working – DCMS staff work on a flexible basis with time spent in offices, and time spent working from home

• 26.5 days annual leave on entry, increasing to 31.5 days after 5 years’ service

• A Civil Service pension with an average employer contribution of 27%

• Access to the Edenred employee benefits system which offers discounts to popular retailers and access to various useful resources such as financial and savings advice

• 3 days of paid volunteering leave

• Up to 9 months maternity leave on full pay + generous paternity and adoption leave

• Staff reward and recognition bonuses that operate throughout the year

• Occupational sick pay

• Access to the Employee Assistance Programme which offers staff 24/7 confidential support and resources such as counselling, debt guidance and management advice

• Active and engaged staff networks to join including the LGBT+, Ethnic Diversity, Mental Health and Wellbeing and Gender Equality Networks

• Exceptional learning and development opportunities that you can explore alongside your day to day work

• Season ticket loan, cycle to work scheme and much more!

Terms and conditions at SCS grades will vary. Those applying for SCS roles should refer to the candidate information pack for more information on terms and conditions.

This role has a minimum assignment duration of 4 years. An assignment duration
is the period of time a Senior Civil Servant is expected to remain in the same post to enable them
to deliver on the agreed key business outcomes. The assignment duration also supports your career through
building your depth of expertise.

As part of accepting this role you will be agreeing to the expected assignment duration set out above.
This will not result in a contractual change to your terms and conditions.
Please note this is an expectation only, it is not something which is written into your terms and
conditions or indeed which the employing organisation or you are bound by. It will depend on your
personal circumstances at a particular time and business needs, for example, would not preclude any
absence like family friendly leave. It is nonetheless an important expectation, which is why we ask you
to confirm you agree to the assignment duration set out above.

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative.

Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available.
You may want to save a copy for your records.

Job contact :

• Name : Anna Dickinson
• Email : Anna.Dickinson@odgersberndtson.com

Recruitment team

• Email : Anna.Dickinson@odgersberndtson.com